CORVALLIS, Ore. — Washington beat Oregon State 82-70 Saturday night, spoiling Senior Day for the Beavers and setting up a rematch between the two schools in the first round of the Pac-10 Conference tournament on Thursday.
“Got to see somebody. That’s how I see it,” said Huskies coach Lorenzo Romar.
He didn’t know whether the matchup would provide an advantage to Washington, though.
“This game means nothing now. It’s a whole new day on Thursday,” Romar said.
Matt Bryan-Amaning led the Huskies with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Isaiah Thomas added 19 points and five assists and Quincy Pondexter scored 18 for Washington (21-9, 11-7 Pac-10), which will carry the No. 3 seed in the postseason conference tournament.
Roeland Schaftenaar had 15 points for Oregon State (14-16, 8-10), the No. 6 seed in the Pac-10.
The Beavers took their only lead of the game at 6:59 in the first half. The Huskies then went on a 13-2 run to take control. Washington was on top 37-29 at halftime, led by as many as 20 points in the second half and shot 50 percent for the game. The Huskies also had just seven turnovers against an Oregon State team that leads the Pac-10 in steals.
“Our guards up top did a really good job, a really good job being smart with the basketball, but being aggressive at the same time,” Romar said. “We weren’t tentative up there.”
With as much as the Huskies try to run, Romar said 13 turnovers or fewer is the goal. “Seven is (great), especially against this team,” Romar said.
The Huskies have won six straight games over the Beavers heading into Thursday’s rematch at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
“That team is very talented, very athletic, and they’re playing very well at the right time,” said Oregon State coach Craig Robinson.
He said it is hard for a team to beat another squad three times in a season. As an example, he pointed to Stanford, who the Beavers defeated twice in the regular season last year. The Cardinal beat Oregon State in last year’s Pac-10 tournament.
Romar is no stranger to teams that have three victories over an opponent in one season.
“There was a year we beat UCLA three times, there was a year we beat Arizona three times, there was a year Washington State beat us three times,” Romar said.
He doesn’t expect any surprises for Thursday’s game, at least in the game plan of the two schools.
“They do what they do. We do what we do. I don’t see any radical changes,” Romar said.
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